Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk Swatch and Review

Thank God It's Friday! (That's how the saying goes, right? Because I am known to use TFIF if you know what I mean sometimes, eh?) But hey it's Friday and not only is it a regular Friday, it's Rainbow Honey's re-release of the Sweet Talk collection, introducing Part II! I just made my order this morning. They have so many cool promotions going on and I ended up catching up on my collection and taking advantage of the savings. Check out their Facebook page for more news on that stuff. (You can also check out my original Sweet Talk review here.) Now to my re-swatch of Sweet Talk.

So Sweet Talk is the flagship name sake of the collection. It's described on their store website as "a decadently sweet collection of pastel glitters in a white jelly with hidden shimmer!"... Which I agree wholeheartedly with. Sweet Talk stole my heart last year, and it still gathers my attention when I re-reviewed this mini. Still reminds me of those heart shaped candies. Perfectly Valentines. Now you've got a couple options on how to apply this. You can either: 1) Build up to opacity in about four coats; or 2) Paint your nails with a white nail polish as a base, and then apply 1-2 coats of Sweet Talk over top. If you're looking for a more 'layered glitter' look, building up is the way to fly, but if you want those glitters to really POP! and not have to worry about the white base opacity build, go with a white base coat. Here's my four coat build with a nice helping of Seche Vite:











And for funsies, I wanted to see how this would look matte-ified and it is amazing, just as I thought. The shimmer flakes really start to stand out. And Sweet Talk looks even MORE like candy, if that were even possible! I used OPI Matte Top Coat for this:







That shimmer is such a nice touch - I didn't actually notice it the first time I used it last year (I think because I was a nail polish n00b? Let's go with that?) But I think it's a really nice subtle way to complete the whole pacakge so to speak.

And now January is OVER! Did you enjoy the first month of the year? Will you be picking up anything from the Sweet Talk collection - If so, are you going for anything in Part II? Also Happy Chinese New Year! I live in Vancouver, so I'll tell ya, it's going to be a fun weekend for events! Year of the Horse, yo.

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Rainbow Honey Be Mine Swatch and Review

Rainbow Honey was kind enough to send me a surprise package of five new samples for the new year. I didn't expect it at all so it was SUCH a nice surprise. I already own a few of them, but I haven't put them all on Claw of Cthulhu to share. This motivated me to get a move on it, haha! The samples I received are: Sweet Talk, Be Mine, Papillion, Changeling Queen and Persephone. I'll be posting those over the next few days but I figured I'd kick it off with some of the samples from the Sweet Talk collection! They are being re-released tomorrow with Sweet Talk: Part 2. So stay tuned on Rainbow Honey's Facebook Page for more detail.



So I've actually reviewed the OG Sweet Talk collection before (you can check that out here) but Claw of Cthulhu was still a baby and I think after a year, much has changed! Rainbow Honey Be Mine is described on the Rainbow Honey store site as "a lovely kiss of pink on your nails - a "crelly" finish polish with a dusting of microshimmer and gold flecks". The descriptor of 'crelly' speaks to the formula - it can be built up to a nice cream finish, but it applies very thin. Not opaque. Formula is good here - better than I remember. Not too sure if it's my painting skill being better. It could possibly be it. I found it covers well in two coats, but I used a third for good measure and finished it with Seche Vite for a slick glossy finish. Check it out:











I love it. It looks wonderful on its own. I love how rosy and cheery the pink tone is. I could definitely go vanilla with this, or use it as a base for nail art. I don't think I've had the chance to use Rainbow Honey's The Frizz too much so I was curious on how it looked over top. I think the two compliment each other for a colourful look, but I think I would still prefer to have Be Mine matched with similar palettes instead. Curiosity kills the cat. One coat of The Frizz:









What do you think about Be Mine? Will you be getting in on the Sweet Talk collection? Also... For my own sake (haha), are my swatches and photos getting better? Damn, I hope so!

If you want to give Rainbow Honey a whirl, make sure you use the promotional code ILOVENAILBLOGS. You'll get $5 off your purchase!

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Born Pretty Store Embossed Metal Style Sticker Nail Art Review

Booourns I am stressed out - something about fake friendships and then something about trying to please the never satisfied client! One of em days. It feels like a Monday so I hereby declare today will be Nail Art Monday. (Even though it's Tuesday.) But I had a great Monday, which is pretty much rare so I'll take it and run with it this time. Besides, I've got these gorgeous as all Hell embossed metal style nail stickers from Born Pretty Store. Speaking of which, I have a blog coupon you can use to get 10% off: ARBQ10 As always, you'll get free worldwide shipping.





These are on the Born Pretty Store as "Embossed Texture Metal Style 3D Nail Art Sticker", as ID: 5659. I really love the vintage-esque vine art inspired design. It looks really classy and the effect is outstanding. I've never really used nail stickers before asides some nail appliques which I didn't find to work to cover the whole nail. However, nail art like this - I found the stickers more workable. They still had some troubles staying on without top coat, so my suggestion is to lock in your nail sticker with some top coat. For my photos, I did not use top coat. There are two designs that came on the sticker sheet. You can play with the orientation of the design to shake things up!

Here are the Born Pretty Embossed Metal Style Stickers over top of Julep Marion:









Honestly? These are lovely. With discount coupons all the time and free worldwide shipping, I think this is another that I would recommend if you wanted to add a touch of class to your nail art. Again, my Claw of Cthulhu blog coupon is: ARBQ10 for an extra 10% off!

What do you think of nail art stickers? Yay or nay? Any other embossed metal kind of designs that would work, or are vintage vine-inspired shapes the way to fly?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.

Deborah Lippmann Shake Your Money Maker Swatch and Review (Bonus: Birthday Haul!)

So as I mentioned before, my birthday was this week and I spoiled myself by picking up a few things at Sephora. Funny how just a few things can add to so much! Pffft! But it is what it is, and I had my eye on this polish for a while. This is Deborah Lippmann's Shake Your Money Maker, which is from the Jewel Heist collection released in Fall of 2013.

Shake Your Money Maker is glitterbomb polish with multi-sized green glitter and spots of holographic gold glitter all swimming saturated in a darkened blue back jelly, which in my opinion, could have been a touch more opaque. Application was not the best - the formula is SO saturated with glitter, it takes a bit of dabbing and unconventional application. Since it's primarily glitter for coverage, it doesn't matter if it goes on smooth. Definitely one of those polishes that aren't the best to apply, but come with QUITE the pay off! YUM. It dried to a very "meh" finish, but with a thick layer of Seche Vite top coat, IT ALL CAME OUT MAGICAL. Here's my swatch of three dabby coats and Seche Vite:













So aside this wonderful polish I got for my birthday... (Here's the signature clear plastic Deborahh Lippmann box)...



I also ended up picking up some eyeshadow. This is Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow in "Cherry On Top". I find it super difficult to find red eyeshadow - apparently it doesn't have the best pigment for skincare or something? That's what I've heard. But I've always worn red eyeshadow even though it makes me look like a vampire. I would swatch it for you but this is a nail blog. Or should I do it one day anyway? Then you would see my face - yuck! Haha, anyway here it is:



I also got some Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments. I LOVE these! These were actually the Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift for 2011 and I was HOOKED! That's how they get ya. Anyway I got a non-tinted ultra moisturizing one, and a "Petal" tint, which I like because it has more of a prominent pink tone to it. Goes decent with my awkward Asian skin tone:



And lastly, here's the Sephora Beauty Insider gift for 2014. It's from MAKE UP FOREVER, and you get a mascara and a lipstick. I don't wear mascara so I gave it to my mum. I kept the lipstick. Shade looks a little meh - I prefer either really bold vampy shades, or on the flipside, something neutral and pink toned. Here's the packaging:



And le lipstick:



Anyway that's the birthday haul - definitely not doing a splurge like this again until maybe next year - if that! Yeeesh. Ah well, once a year, am I right? And I don't wear make-up every day so I know for certain these will all last quite some time.

That's my last post for the week, thanks for joining my on my first week back on Claw of Cthulhu. Hope I can get back to doing this on a regular basis until I run out of polish, haha! I hope you all have an amazing weekend! In the meantime, I'll be rocking Deborah Lippmann's Shake Your Money Maker all weekend! What are you wearing on the weekend? Any plans? I personally hope to be taking it easy! See you next week.

Julep Tracy Swatch and Review

Have you ever done that thing where you tell yourself you're not going to spend any money, and then life ends up costing a bunch of money anyway? That's me right now, haha. Luckily I'm so backlogged in my nail polishes that I've got enough material to keep going. But I've been so ansty lately for whatever reason - I am thinking about cutting back on my part time gigs and go back to school. Ah well, too many things to think about!

For now, here's Julep Tracy. This is my FIRST JULEP to be on this blog and you can thank my NPBFF (that's Nail Polish Best Friend Forever) Caitlin from Addicted to Lacquer since she was kind enough to get me a whole box o polish for Christmas! (Spoiler alert, there's more Juleps down the pipe!) One of my really good friends told me that the formula was awesome, and I've gotta say - it lives up to the claim!

Julep Tracy is a denim blue foil that went on quite gracefully after two coats. It has a really nice opaque shimmery finish on its own. Here's two coats of Tracy with no top coat:











And always for funsies, here's Essie Set in Stones tips:







Anyway I gotta say my first experience with Julep was great! Formula was great, bottles and box were a lovely presentation. I can see why all you girls show so much love for Julep. Another reason why you polish fiends might like Julep is because you can fit in a million in your Helmer drawers, AM I RIGHT? (I know I am! Haha!)

Have you tried Julep polishes before? What do you make of them?

Born Pretty Store Fox Tail Metal Rhinestone Nail Art Review

It's Tuesday but we're going to pretend it's a Monday because it's my excuse for posting up some nail art. Today I've got some metal fox tail rhinestones for nail art from Born Pretty Store. DAT BLING, AM I RIGHT? Again, I am sure you've heard of Born Pretty Store, but in case you haven't - they have a VAST selection of nail art supplies for cheap and free shipping. What I'm trying to say is you can't go wrong here! Just as a reminder, you can also use my blogs coupon for an additional 10% off: ARBQ10

So I haven't actually tried any bling stones for nail art, especially the 3D ones were always daunting to me, but I feel like this worked out better than expected! I just used a thick layer of top coat to make the gems stay down. These were a bit on the heavy side, and I think I would suggest to use these as one day wear, or if you plan on going on longer use, I would go with maybe gel. Anyway these are on the site as "3pcs 3D Nail Stickers Cute Metal Rhinestone Fox Tail Nail Art Decoration" and the item ID: 7199.

Here's my metal fox tail rhinestone bling as a highlight nail with Rainbow Honey's Deep Field:







It actually reminded me of my wallet! Couldn't help but photograph it with my wallet too!:



I thought it looked really great and complimentary with Rainbow Honey's Deep Field but I also wanted to test drive a blingy fox tail rhinestone with some sultry blingy nail polish. Nothing says POSH like Deborah Lippmann so here's some contrasting polish. This is the same highlight nail over Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Red Slippers:







I love how rich the rhinestone looks over that red! Definitely something for a special occasion!

If you dig this foxy rhinestone, check out Born Pretty Store for these and more. You can even use my blog's coupon for an additional 10%: ARBQ10

How do you feel about 3D nail art? Is it something you can go about your every day life with? What are your tips and tricks for long lasting wear?

Full disclosure: This sample was provided for an unbiased review.